I think it'd be easy for Republicans to fearmonger against a self-proclaimed democratic socialists. Tapping into fear works, as evidenced by Trump, and the effects of the Red Scare are hardly gone. There was a Gallup poll last year that said Americans would vote for a gay person, Muslim or atheist before a socialist.
Bernie is not a socialist and that poll is outdated. That poll was taken around the same time when Hillary was leading in NH by double-digits.
I think it'd be easy for Republicans to fearmonger against a self-proclaimed democratic socialists. Tapping into fear works, as evidenced by Trump, and the effects of the Red Scare are hardly gone. There was a Gallup poll last year that said Americans would vote for a gay person, Muslim or atheist before a socialist.
Bernie wrote rape fantasy essays, never really had a steady job until 40 and collected public assistance while running for office, has an illegitimate kid that nobody really knows much about, and has only authored 3 successful bills despite being a Senator for over 25 years.
This is stuff that I found in like 5 minutes of searching. The veracity, I don't know, because I don't really care enough to look. But Karl Rove and his buddies sure will, regardless of whether or not any of it is actually true.
The Republican machine managed to make war hero John Kerry look weak next to draft dodger GWB. They are a powerful entity. Hillary has many skeletons but that closet has been open for a long time. Bernie is still unvetted and is benefiting from having no real attacks against him, which is unprecedented for this late in the primary cycle.
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On an unrelated note, Bill is about to sink Hillary before SC the same way he did before SC in 2008.
1. All 320m people can't vote so that number is irrelevant.
2. There are social media campaigns for everything. It shows what people are thinking. This is also consistent with him getting votes in the Republican primary. So yes, those Republicans better stan
I deleted the original post because I found the tone condescending, but I stand by the content. Social media campaigns are not representative of the electorate and are skewed to younger demographics by their nature. Those 22,000 Republicans (who probably aren't ideologically even close to the Republican base) do not reflect all moderate Republicans or centrist independents. They certainly don't represent the hundreds of thousands of Tea Party Republicans who would go into a frothing rage at the very mention of "socialism."
Bernie is not a socialist and that poll is outdated. That poll was taken around the same time when Hillary was leading in NH by double-digits.
A 2015 Gallup poll about the entire U.S. voting population is not outdated in February of 2016. Democratic primary voters and New Hampshire voters are not representative of the entire U.S. electorate. It doesn't matter whether Bernie is a socialist as long as the GOP can paint him as one, and I doubt most voters will see the difference between socialist and democratic socialist.
Bernie wrote rape fantasy essays, never really had a steady job until 40 and collected public assistance while running for office, has an illegitimate kid that nobody really knows much about, and has only authored 3 successful bills despite being a Senator for over 25 years.
This is stuff that I found in like 5 minutes of searching. The veracity, I don't know, because I don't really care enough to look. But Karl Rove and his buddies sure will, regardless of whether or not any of it is actually true.
The Republican machine managed to make war hero John Kerry look weak next to draft dodger GWB. They are a powerful entity. Hillary has many skeletons but that closet has been open for a long time. Bernie is still unvetted and is benefiting from having no real attacks against him, which is unprecedented for this late in the primary cycle.
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On an unrelated note, Bill is about to sink Hillary before SC the same way he did before SC in 2008.
Anybody who thinks the Republicans or the general electorate for that matter, is gonna make the distinction between socialist and 'democratic socialist is kidding themselves
I deleted the original post because I found the tone condescending, but I stand by the content. Social media campaigns are not representative of the electorate and are skewed to younger demographics by their nature. Those 22,000 Republicans (who probably aren't ideologically even close to the Republican base) do not reflect all moderate Republicans or centrist independents. They certainly don't represent the hundreds of thousands of Tea Party Republicans who would go into a frothing rage at the very mention of "socialism."
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Originally posted by Moonchild
A 2015 Gallup poll about the entire U.S. voting population is not outdated in February of 2016. Democratic primary voters and New Hampshire voters are not representative of the entire U.S. electorate. It doesn't matter whether Bernie is a socialist as long as the GOP can paint him as one, and I doubt most voters will see the difference between socialist and democratic socialist.
Of course. I'm just saying that there is proof that the other party is willing to get behind him, more so than Hillary, who is seen as the more moderate candidate. I have yet to see anything similar for Hillary. Facebook isn't only used by young people; there are a lot of older people that could start something similar for her. This might have to do with the fact that she's the front-runner so the GOP aren't paying attention to Bernie, but the resistance Hillary already faces is more than what Bernie is currently facing. This could all change if he wins the Democratic election but I still think this is a good sign for him. The Tea Party support is actually decreasing according to this poll.
And about the poll, my point was that some of the pollers could have changed their mind once they heard more about Bernie's "socialism." They might realize it's not that bad. The question is a bit weird to me anyway. A gay person can be a socialist. A Muslim can be a socialist I probably wouldn't have chosen socialist either. It's too vague.
And Hillary and Bernie voted for something like 90%+ of the same things when they were in office at the same time
And Hillary was consistently ranked as one of the most liberal Senators during her time (right next to, and I mean literally right next to, Warren)
And I mean I could pull up a lot more but I'm just saying it's pretty hard to take issue with Hillary's voting record when essentially the only major thing anyone has against her there was a 2002 war vote influenced by the lies of the President of the United States and the whole "deadliest terror attack in modern US history" thing happening like a few blocks from where she served in the state she represented
A decision, by the way, that literally can't hurt her in a general election against a Republican
We'll also see how him, his small donors + his personal net worth of 300K go against Trump money.
We could also see how Hillary, her donors + her personal net worth of 30M go against Trump money
The Clintons' net worth is $111 million. Trump's is $4 billion. That's just over 1/40th of his net worth Either Trump will decimate the Democrat party or he'll turn off voters. It won't matter who the Democrat nominee is.
And that's IF the Republicans nominate him. While he's currently ahead, anything could happen between now and June. Their superdelegates have to vote for whoever their state voted, so that makes it harder for the GOP to nominate an establishment candidate.
Also that chart has weirdly biased errors like neglecting to update with her support for breaking up big banks when necessary (not that I care about that because it's actually only minimally beneficial), claiming Bernie's SPAC funds are zero (he doesn't have his own but there's at least one that contributes to his campaign), listing net worth (seriously?), failing to note Hillary has almost a million small donors as well (I'm included there!), saying absolutely nothing about the very important gun issue, and essentially just simplifying all of this to an extent that makes it really irresponsible to base a vote off this information. Just an observation.
And Hillary and Bernie voted for something like 90%+ of the same things when they were in office at the same time
And Hillary was consistently ranked as one of the most liberal Senators during her time (right next to, and I mean literally right next to, Warren)
And I mean I could pull up a lot more but I'm just saying it's pretty hard to take issue with Hillary's voting record when essentially the only major thing anyone has against her there was a 2002 war vote influenced by the lies of the President of the United States and the whole "deadliest terror attack in modern US history" thing happening like a few blocks from where she served in the state she represented
A decision, by the way, that literally can't hurt her in a general election against a Republican
Yeah, I just couldn't find a better picture to use.
I still think looking at just a yes/no voting record is pointless. You need to know their reasons behind what they did and why they did it. You can't just say "Bernie voted for the crime bill to punish blacks!" or "Bernie voted for Iraq so he loves war!" without looking at WHY he voted for it because that's not true, which is what I've been trying to say.
Of course. I'm just saying that there is proof that the other party is willing to get behind him, more so than Hillary, who is seen as the more moderate candidate. I have yet to see anything similar for Hillary. Facebook isn't only used by young people; there are a lot of older people that could start something similar for her. This might have to do with the fact that she's the front-runner so the GOP aren't paying attention to Bernie, but the resistance Hillary already faces is more than what Bernie is currently facing. This could all change if he wins the Democratic election but I still think this is a good sign for him. The Tea Party support is actually decreasing according to this poll.
And about the poll, my point was that some of the pollers could have changed their mind once they heard more about Bernie's "socialism." They might realize it's not that bad. The question is a bit weird to me anyway. A gay person can be a socialist. A Muslim can be a socialist I probably wouldn't have chosen socialist either. It's too vague.
Honestly the proof isn't really proof per say. Its common knowledge in the Republican base to support Bernie over Hillary in any way they can. Its not because they like his policies, its because a Bernie Sanders nomination in their minds assures a Republican president... and truthfully it does. A two second look at the electoral college and voting history shows that basically no states would actually sway in Bernie's favor especially the swing states. Florida, Ohio etc. So by voting for him in open primaries it hurts Hilary which is the only thing the GOP base cares about.
Honestly the proof isn't really proof per say. Its common knowledge in the Republican base to support Bernie over Hillary in any way they can. Its not because they like his policies, its because a Bernie Sanders nomination in their minds assures a Republican president... and truthfully it does. A two second look at the electoral college and voting history shows that basically no states would actually sway in Bernie's favor especially the swing states. Florida, Ohio etc. So by voting for him in open primaries it hurts Hilary which is the only thing the GOP base cares about.
Bernie's quotes supporting Castro playing ON LOOP in Florida leading up to November. Whew. He'd lose by 15+.
I don't know. I just can't get behind Bernie. I think he's more full of it than Hillary tbh.
He panders to young people the same way people are calling out Hillary for pandering to black people
Slightly important change of topic, "The 2016 Senate election takes place on November 8, 2016. There are 34 seats up in 2016, of which 24 are held by Republicans. Democrats will need to gain 4 or 5 seats to take control." Just a reminder of how there is more at stake in November than just the Presidency.
Either Trump will decimate the Democrat party or he'll turn off voters. It won't matter who the Democrat nominee is.
I still think Rubio is getting the nom.